Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a 1998 crime comedy film written and directed by Guy Ritchie. It follows a heist involving a confident young card sharp who loses £500,000 to a powerful crime lord in a rigged game of three-card brag, prompting him to pay off his debts by enlisting his friends to help him rob a small-time gang operating out of the apartment next door. It stars an ensemble cast featuring Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Jason Statham (in his film debut), Steven Mackintosh, Vinnie Jones, and Sting.
The film brought Ritchie international acclaim and introduced Statham (a former diver) and Jones (a former footballer) to worldwide audiences in their feature film debuts. It was also a commercial success, grossing over $28 million at the box office against a $1.35 million budget. A television spin-off called Lock, Stock... followed in 2000, running for seven episodes.
Contents
Plot
Long-time friends and small-time London criminals Eddie, Tom, Soap, and Bacon put together £100,000 so that Eddie, a card sharp, can participate in one of "Hatchet" Harry Lonsdale's high-stakes three-card brag games. The game, however, is rigged; and not only does Eddie lose his money, he winds up owing £500,000 to Harry, with only a week's grace before payment is due. Harry sends his debt collector Big Chris (and his son Little Chris) to Eddie's father JD, since Harry's true intention is to acquire JD's bar in payment of the debt.
Also interested in two expensive antique Holland & Holland shotguns up for auction, Harry gets his enforcer Barry "the Baptist" to hire two Scouser thieves, Gary and Dean, to steal them from an insolvent lord. Unfortunately, they end up selling the guns to Nick "the Greek", a local fence, instead of bringing them to Harry; Barry threatens them into retrieving the guns.
Meanwhile, Eddie, desperate to find a way to get the money needed to pay back Harry, overhears his neighbours- a gang of robbers led by the brutal 'Dog'- planning a heist on a nearby cannabis patch run by a eloquent student named Winston and his friends, aiming to steal their cannabis crop and money. Informing Tom, Soap and Bacon of this, the four decide to surprise Dog and his crew after they rob the cannabis growers and make off with the goods themselves. Tom goes to Nick the Greek to purchase firearms in preparation for the job, and- with neither man aware of their true value- buys the pair of shotguns Harry is after.
Dog's gang begin their heist with the help of Plank, one of the growers' customers, and despite two setbacks (one gang member is killed by his own Bren gun, while another is forced to incapacitate and kidnap an unfortunate traffic warden that tries to ticket their van) they succeed in stealing a duffel bag full of money and a van loaded with bags of cannabis. Their victory is short lived, however, as Eddie and friends subsequently ambush Dog and his remaining crew, taking the van, drugs and traffic warden. Transferring the loot to their own van and beating the traffic warden before dumping him on the side of the road, they take the drugs to Nick to fence.
Nick barters with Rory Breaker, a psychotic gang boss, who agrees to buy the cannabis at half price. However, it is soon revealed that Rory owns Winston's grow operation when two of his men investigate- Nick has inadvertently tried to sell Rory his own drugs. Incensed, Rory threatens Nick into giving him Eddie's address, while he tasks Winston with identifying the men that robbed the operation.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack to the film was released in 1998 in the United Kingdom by Island Records. Madonna's Maverick Records label released the soundtrack in the United States in 1999 but omitted nine tracks from the UK release.
"Hundred Mile High City" by Ocean Colour Scene
"It's a Deal, It's a Steal" by Tom, Nick & Ed*
"The Boss" by James Brown
"Truly, Madly, Deeply" by Skanga*
"Hortifuckinculturist" – Winston
"Police and Thieves" by Junior Murvin
"18 With a Bullet" by Lewis Taylor & Carleen Anderson*
"Spooky" by Dusty Springfield
"The Game" by John Murphy & David A. Hughes*
"Muppets" by Harry, Barry & Gary
"Man Machine" by Robbie Williams*
"Walk This Land" by E-Z Rollers
"Blaspheming Barry" by Barry
"I Wanna Be Your Dog" by The Stooges
"It's Kosher" by Tom & Nick
"Liar, Liar" by The Castaways*
"I've Been Shot" by Plank & Dog
"Why Did You Do It" by Stretch
"Guns 4 show, knives for a pro" by Ed & Soap
Production
The production of the film followed Guy Ritchie's single short film which preceded Lock, Stock. As stated in filmscouts.com:Although it was Ritchie's first feature, his previous short film The Hard Case was sufficiently impressive to secure interest not only from financial backers but also persuaded Sting to take the role of JD. "I'd seen Guy's short film and was excited by the pace and energy in it. The way in which he handles violence and action appealed to me. I don't like gratuitous violence. I think it's much more chilling when it's suggested rather than graphic." For Ritchie, getting exactly the right actor for each role was essential. "The casting took forever and we auditioned hundreds of people, but I was determined to hold out until we got the real McCoy." This led to employing several genuine ex-cons, who certainly invest the film with its menacing undertones. Ritchie also looked to the celebrity arena to secure the right cast such as Vinnie Jones. "I didn't hesitate in casting Vinnie as I have the most incredible respect for his acting capabilities."
A one-hour documentary of the production of the film was released featuring much of the cast along with Ritchie.
Locations include Shoreditch for the gang hideout and Clerkenwell for JD's bar.
The film was Lenny McLean's final film appearance, as he died in July 1998, shortly before the film's release.
Release
Summit Entertainment acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film excluding the UK upon its premiere at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, which already held UK rights, acquired distribution rights for the film in North America (with U.S. distribution being handled by its subsidiary Gramercy Pictures), later extended to include Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, the Benelux, France, Spain and Switzerland.
Reception
Box office
The film was released on 28 August 1998 in the United Kingdom and was the second-highest grossing local production for the year behind Sliding Doors with a gross of $18.9 million. It was released on 5 March 1999 in the United States, where its total gross was $3,753,929 (equivalent to $7,255,146 in 2025).
Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 75% based on 67 reviews, with an average rating of 6.70/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels is a grimy, twisted, and funny twist on the Tarantino hip gangster formula". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100 based on 30 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
John Ferguson in Radio Times called the film "the best British crime film since The Long Good Friday". Roger Ebert in Chicago Sun-Times wrote: "Lock, Stock is fun, in a slapdash way; it has an exuberance, and in a time when movies follow formulas like zombies, it's alive".
Accolades
The film was nominated for a British Academy Film Award in 1998 for the outstanding British Film of the Year. In 1999, it was nominated for a Brit Award for Soundtrack/Cast Recording. In 2000, Ritchie won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Motion Picture Screenplay. In 2004, Total Film named it the 38th greatest British film of all time. In 2016, Empire magazine ranked Lock, Stock 75th on their list of the 100 best British films.
Television
A spin-off television series, co-written by Ritchie was developed for Channel 4. The show featured a new cast of characters: Moon, Jamie, Bacon, and Lee (portrayed by Daniel Caltagirone, Scott Maslen, Shaun Parkes, and Del Synnott, respectively); who comedically fail at various criminal business ventures, similar to the cast of the feature film. Lock, Stock... aired from May 29 through July 11, 2000.
